Mantic
by NekoPen
Summary: Harry is sent into hiding when Voldemort attacks Hogwarts. Death Eater Turned Spy!Draco is sent in after him. HPDM
1. Noesis

Mantic

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the world in which he frolics.

I hope you enjoy my story. It's the first time this has happened, but the plot came to me in a dream (this was really, really weird) and it had nothing to do with Harry Potter, but I transcribed or however you would say it, and it came out like this. Actually, in the dream, it was about two sisters and one of them couldn't control her own bodily functions (I know, it's very odd) but there was this guy who loved her and told her everyday not to love anybody else. Anyway, it was very odd. Now that I think about it, it has almost nothing to do with this story. Wow, that was a *weird* dream x.x

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A cold breeze ran through the halls of Hogwarts that day, as if to warn its occupants of some recent and urgent discovery. It ran through the kitchens, where the house elves, for all their determination, had stopped cooking or scrubbing or sweeping at the wind's passing, stopped and shivered for their apprehension. It passed the Great Hall, where Albus Dumbledore had halted in his congratulatory speech for the Slytherins' victory in winning the House Cup. He had stopped speaking for only a moment - hardly noticeable to any of the students - and had picked up where he left off to finish his speech with a light satirical joke. And finally, the draft had passed through Harry Potter's dormitory.

He was alone inside of that room. It was empty and, up 'til a moment ago, warm. There were still Butterbeer bottles left over from last night's party, the ones Harry despised because of the sticky ring of residue they always left behind long after the bottle was discarded. The curtains hung limply - cigarettes had been passed in this room the previous night - and they had made Harry depressed only by looking at them. 

Harry dropped the bottle he was holding when the breeze had come into contact with his skin. He sucked in a shaky breath and felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. The cold gust of air was an altogether unwelcome guest. He bent down to pick up the bottle, which had landed on the floor and rolled to the door. But Harry picked it up and, as he placed it gently in his bag, came to realize that somebody had come into his room.

"Harry." Breathless, urgent. 

"What are you doing here? Who let you in?"

"No, no time for that. I came to you first, Dumbledore doesn't know. The Dark Lord is coming, he's coming." Draco's breath was short. It was obvious that he had been running for some time. "You've got to hide, he's coming for you."

At this point, Harry had dropped his bag on the floor and all of it's contents had spilled out, leaving a residue-ridden floor in their wake. They ran, with such speed only fear could invoke, and skidded to a stop at the entrance to the Great Hall. Only then did Harry realize that Draco was still in his Death Eater robes. 

"One second, you can't go in there like this." He pulled the mask from around Draco's neck, "Did anybody see you before you found me?" He pulled at the black silk and the robe slid off effortlessly.

"No. Wait, the house elves. I came in through the kitchens. I used your Invisibility Cloak in the Great Hall, so only the house elves."

"The house elves wont be asked, they never are."

They were clear. They tried, at first, to enter the room discreetly, but the gigantic door that led to the Hall had emitted such a screech of metal against metal that the entire school had turned their heads to find Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy looking as if they had run a marathon.

They walked calmly to the head table and addressed the Headmaster.

"I have been alerted that we are to be contacted shortly by the Ministry of Magic. I would ask that prefects please escort all students back to their respective common rooms, where they are to remain until morning." and Dumbledore turned to face Draco, "Meet me at my office in fifteen minutes." He turned, "Harry, go with him, but do not be seen. You do not want the enemy to know where you are. Ever."

They both nodded and Dumbledore disappeared through a door behind the head table. By then, all of the students had been evacuated and Professor Snape had come limping into the room. The teachers had released a collective gasp at the sight of him; some of them rushed to help him, but he would not stand for it. Harry and Draco were still parked next to the Headmaster's empty chair when Snape had finally reached the table; they hurried out at his intense glare. As they left through the Screeching Door, they could still hear him debriefing the teachers as to the current situation regarding Voldemort and the impending attack.

"Why is he attacking now?" Harry found himself asking as they rushed to Dumbledore's office.

"I'm not sure. I don't know much, Snape has all the information. Truthfully, I didn't think he'd make it back alive, but he's branded as traitor now - they haven't sniffed me out yet."

"Will it be tonight? Tomorrow?" 

"…I'm not sure. The giants haven't come yet, so it can't be tonight. They're too stupid to get organized in time, they'll need at least a few hours of training. Training," He scoffed, "What's there to do? Stomp this, kill that. But Voldemort wont just send them in here without some sort of security…. I'm sorry, am I babbling?"

But Harry was nearly panicking now, "The students, the students will get out in time, wont they? The train leaves in the morning!"

Draco laughed nervously at that, "No, no, Dumbledore wont be sending them away on something as obvious as the Hogwart's Express. He'll probably send them off on the Floo."

They finally reached the office, and before either could realize that he didn't have the password, the statue twisted and formed a winding staircase up to the giant office. Wordlessly, Harry went up the stairs and Draco followed.

"Mm, there you are. Have a seat, would you like some le-"

Harry cleared his throat. 

"Perhaps this isn't the time." Dumbledore admitted, "Mr. Malfoy, please tell us what's happened."

Draco paused, trying to collect his thoughts, "The Dark Lord realized that Professor Snape was a spy, and realized that the information about the school's defense was exaggerated. He knows he can break through now, and he's coming for Harry. If you are here, he'll try to kill you too, but his main goal is Harry. He found out about the Prophecy too, yesterday, they used Veritaserum on Snape."

'That's right,' Harry thought, 'Only one of us can live.'

Dumbledore was standing from his chair at this point, "What information has Severus disclosed?"

"I can't be sure of that, I was sent to Hogwarts before they had finished with him. I don't even know how he got back out alive…"

"It's not him!" Harry shouted, "It can't be him, what if he's under Imperius?"

"No Harry, Severus can't be under the Imperius. He had taken certain precautions long before today which would enable him to break the Imperius in an instant. It has much to do with Occlumancy." Dumbledore smiled, and it was admittedly a little creepy in this situation. "And neither can the Polyjuice Potion have been used, because he, as an Animagus, would only produce gigantic snakes. No, the real concern is how to get you safely out of the school."

"Should I go to the Dursleys'?" He asked while shivering at the prospect.

"No, too obvious. I have to send you somewhere remote. I think a memory would suffice." Dumbledore walked around his desk and stuck his head in one of his many cupboards. 

Harry furrowed his eyebrows quizzically and Draco shrugged. When Dumbledore had pulled his head from the cupboard, he had with him a stone bowl that looked suspiciously like a pensieve. 

"This," He started while dusting off the top, "Will help us greatly. Harry, I want you to think of a place where you felt the most comfort. A place where you found security and love and you were not afraid. Just think of it for a moment, please."

Dumbledore brought out his wand and placed it at Harry's temple, where he drew out a very large memory. Dumbledore actually had to make two trips from the bowl as the memory would not end. 

"Harry, the place you've chosen is very large, perhaps too large. We cannot have you getting lost."

"It's Hogwarts," he stated placidly, "I wont get lost."

"Hogwarts? Well, I suppose that will be safe. Remember, this will only be your memory, so there will likely be no other common room but Gryffindor, and there will be many a dark, fuzzy corner, where you can't remember what exactly was there. It's very similar to a pensieve; the difference is that you can use magic and you can make use of the objects you find in there. You will not be floating like a ghost, so prepare for a hard landing. I will bring you out when it is time, some people may join you in the future."

"How long will it be?" 

"We can't be sure, likely no longer than a few days. I will inform Professors Snape and McGonagall as to your location. If I am not available, they will bring you out. Mr. Malfoy as well."

"Alright then," Harry conceded, "Goodbye Professor, see you Draco." 

Draco ran up to Harry and gave him a last hug, "I'll see you in a couple of days, Harry."

"Don't get yourself killed." He smiled and placed his hand in his cold memory.

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Woah, yeah, woah. Me too. I hope you liked it, *please* leave a review, 'cause they keep me going, and go ahead and read my other fics. Thanks for reading (and hopefully reviewing) and I'll write another chapter soon. I have lots of hope for this fic. Thanks!

Tara


	2. Reminiscence

Mantic

Reminiscence

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the world in which he frolics.

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Harry felt himself fall through the air. He could almost hope he wasn't going to get hurt, but he hadn't been falling for enough time for any thought but pure fear. He landed smoothly on a cloud of blue and silver and struggled to sit up straight when he realized that he had landed on a gigantic pile of pillows. It was obvious where he was - he was quite sure Hogwarts could not possibly house this many pillows - and he knew he had conveniently fallen in the Room of Requirement. 

__

Well, that takes care of that. Harry dusted his hands off for no reason and took a good look around. He laughed when he realized that this room had always been there for him, even when his friends would doubt him.

The castle had remained much the same, but it did have more than a few glaring exceptions. Most of the paintings, for example, had gone blurry because Harry had never taken the time to really look at them. The Fat Lady was especially conspicuous as she was constantly picking her nose; Harry found that memory particularly funny and it had stuck with his impression of Hogwarts. The staircases would move in odd patterns, constantly going back and forth, because Harry had remembered them as annoying when he was trying to go in one direction and the staircases would not allow it. 

When he had entered the library, he stood amazed at the uniformity. Surely he remembered more color here and there, but he could not change the memory now as it was already gone and stuck inside of the pensieve. The books on the shelves were too similar to one another. Some stood out, notably almost the entire Quidditch section and other obscure titles that he had been forced to search during his many 'research projects' with Hermione and Ron. But this place was utterly and entirely depressing. 

There were a few dark spots near the Ravenclaw common room. Some of the corridors looked eerie and somewhat evil for their darkness, and Harry had decided to venture down them to see what obscurity would show up as the 'memory' of a place he had never been. He walked for a few minutes before he realized that he wasn't getting anywhere. Everything in front of him was dark, but he turned around and realized that he hadn't been walking at all, or he had been walking in place. The same blurry statue he had passed three minutes ago was still there. The darkness in the corridor would not let him go anywhere.. Well, that was as far as his memory could take him.

Finally, he retired to the Gryffindor common room, where he was comforted by the details in the paintings and the architecture. This is a place he had been many times. He checked his wristwatch and realized that several hours had passed, causing him stress over a number of things. For one, he wasn't the least bit hungry, which was peculiar as it was well past breakfast time and he hadn't eaten dinner the previous night. And second, he wasn't tired at all - he had exactly the same amount of energy as when he arrived. This, he realized, would be very boring indeed.

Being in this place was not at all what he had assumed it would be. No people, no people even ignoring him as he had experienced in other pensieves. And, though hours had passed, he was not pulled out of this memory. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sir?" Draco asked in confusion.

"There is no other option. I entrust him to you; he is not safe here. I have thought carefully about it, and it is a possibility that the only people who know where Harry is will die in battle. I will send Severus with you. Go somewhere remote - I shall maintain contact with both of you. Do not allow Harry to come out until I send word. He has never mastered Occlumency and it would be very simple for Voldemort to locate him should he leave that pensieve." Dumbledore pulled out his wand and pointed it at the stone bowl, effectively shrinking it into a manageable size. 

At that moment, Severus Snape had entered the room. "You called for me, sir?"

"Yes, we haven't much time to prepare for this battle. The Ministry has been called, we have three hundred Aurors in," He checked his watch, "One hour. We have to get you, Draco and Harry out before then."

There was a moment of intense emotional disorder in the room before Severus burst with a horrified, "_Pardon_?"

"We need to get you out of Hogwarts. The three of you are not safe here." Dumbledore explained slowly.

"Sir! I can help with this battle. I know his tactics, I know how he thinks!" Severus was on the verge of yelling at this point.

"That is precisely why I need you to escort Harry and Draco to a safe place. You know how Voldemort thinks, so you will avoid him at all costs. Harry may not die. He dies and the wizarding world along with him. You will both have to protect him - do not be found! Severus, keep contact with me in the usual way."

Severus, still confounded, did not speak. 

"…Without Harry, how will you defeat the Dark Lord?" Draco asked quietly.

"We will not defeat him. There is no hope for that, but we will exhaust his forces, he will be without guard when the battle is over, I will personally make sure of it. Nobody knows where the three of you are, or will be in an hour. Severus, take them somewhere remote, Antarctica if you need to. Take only what belongings are necessary. I have shrunken two weeks worth of food," he pointed casually at a tiny pile of tiny boxes with tiny food inside, "try not to be seen by muggles unless absolutely necessary."

But Draco had an idea. "Harry has an invisibility cloak, sir! We could use that if we needed it."

"Good, good. Take it. Well then, Severus, remember those…constitutions, and I will expect word from you every day in the morning and in the evening. And Draco, have a safe trip. You may have brief visits with Harry inside of the pensieve, I'm certain it gets quite boring in there when one does not need to sleep or eat and has no communication with the outside world." Dumbledore checked his grandfather clock and clapped his hands, "I'm afraid we've run out of time. You have forty five minutes to get your belongings in order and leave the castle. Good luck."

Severus was still silent after he had left Dumbledore's office. He was furious. He was now responsible for a little shit stuck in a memory - who happened to be the wizarding world's last hope. Damn his luck. 

"Come to my office in twenty five minutes" and he left Draco standing at the door to the Slytherin common room. 

Draco rushed into his room, thankfully finding that the entire school had been evacuated of students, and threw handfuls of clothes into his trunk. He also located the invisibility cloak (Harry had left it one day after he had snuck into the Slytherins' common room), which had been carelessly tossed under Draco's bed.

After he shrunk his trunk, he remembered to grab his broomstick from beside his bed - it could be useful in the future. He hurried down to Severus' office as they had only twenty minutes before the Aurors would arrive. They could not be seen, even by allies. He entered the office without bothering to knock; he and Severus had become comfortable with each other after the arduous spent together as Death Eaters. 

Severus was standing by the fire, ready to leave, by the time Draco had arrived. "We're taking the floo to the Black Residence, but we cannot linger. We will spend one day there - for sleep and to get things in order - but that is all we can afford. We can't stay in one place for more than two days at a time; you had better not get sick while we're using portkeys. It isn't safe to Apparate with Potter inside of the pensieve, as we can't be sure what will happen to him."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Alright, you go first."

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Hey, I hope you liked this chapter. Please leave a Review! Maybe I'll write faster! Lol. Oh, so tired. I didn't get this beta-ed so there are bound to be some errors and repetitionitionness - blah, okay too tired to think now, going to sleep, bye bye.

-Tara


	3. Anathema

Mantic

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the world in which he frolics.

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"Severus?" He tiptoed into the main room, not wanting the hideous portrait of Sirius Black's mother to wake. 

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Severus was writing a letter - probably to Dumbledore.

"I thought I'd go visit Harry, well, I can't sleep." 

"You wont get any rest in there. You'll return in the morning in exactly the same condition as you leave." Severus looked up from his parchment and stared levelly at Draco.

"It's alright, I'm not tired at all." 

Severus conceded, "Very well. I'll pull you out in the morning."

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Draco laughed out loud when he neared the Fat Lady, who was perpetually picking her nose. After a few minutes though, he became frustrated at not being able to open the passage - he knew Harry was somewhere in his common room. He threw a few unlikely passwords at the portrait before picking up a nearby vase and chucking it across the hallway straight into the Fat Lady's generous stomach. Surprisingly, the frame gently swiveled open to reveal a beautiful, warm common room. 

Harry was standing in front of a wall, painting obscenities onto a very old looking tapestry. 

"What in Merlin's name are you doing?" Draco nearly shouted after taking a good look at exactly what Harry had painted on his own common room wall.

Harry dropped his paintbrush and twisted around in reaction to the voice. "Draco?" He gaped, "How'd you get in here?"

"I stuck my hand in, how else?" Draco grinned and gave Harry a tight hug. "And, uh, what's the painting for?"

Harry immediately blushed and stuttered, "Y-you well, you know, do I need to explain?" He motioned to the obscene mural and covered his face in embarrassment. 

"I like your depiction of Trelawney, but I think she needs more hair around the nose… and less around the breasts." Draco pointed appraisingly at a very stupid looking drawing.

"…That's…not Trelawney," Harry wheezed from too much laughter, "It's Hagrid."

"Oh, this is too much." Draco laughed, "I think I need to kiss you." 

He pulled Harry into an embrace and kissed him slowly, deeply, savoring the taste of it. Draco could feel him shake with impatience as they stumbled toward the general vicinity of a sofa. As they fell onto it, Harry hit his head against the armrest, prompting their teeth to click together. Draco broke the kiss with a curse and ran his tongue over his teeth, trying to alleviate the pain and looking altogether beautiful in Harry's eyes. 

He bent down once again and nipped at Harry's ear while running a hand along his thigh, causing Harry to moan into his ear. Harry pushed up against the other boy's body and laughed as his erection became prominent. Draco only kissed a trail down his neck and continued stroking his leg, eliciting more mewling noises from Harry. 

Neither of them noticed Severus enter the common room until he snorted with distaste. Draco immediately stopped and turned his head to the end of the room, finding a very annoyed Severus Snape.

"Uh.." He said, before realizing that he was still straddling Harry on the couch. He flushed and quickly stood up to face Severus, "That was uh…"

"Hi." Harry butt in, trying to lighten the mood but actually making it infinitely more uncomfortable.

"Potter," He acknowledged and turned to Draco, "I didn't send you in here for…this" He motioned disgustedly at Harry and continued, "I had rather hoped you would be responsible and tell him what has happened. There's no time for it now. Tonks was taken by the Dark Lord sixteen minutes ago in Hogsmeade - it is very likely that she will be forced to disclose the location of the Black Residence."

There was a moment's pause before Harry responded, "Well, we've got to go and save her!" He looked toward Draco for some sign of agreement, but he only looked guiltily at the floor, "Well, we can't let Voldemort torture her to death!" 

"Listen, Harry, we can't just go in there. You're a target for the Dark Lord - he'll be looking for you. He's been looking for you." Draco said quietly, nervously.

"I've taken the liberty of gathering our belongings and taking the Floo to my father's home. I've…lost contact with Dumbledore. We'll have to keep moving until there's someway to make sure we're safe. Draco, I'll have to ask you to stay in here until I come fetch you again."

Draco nodded, "Well, I suppose it'll be better than running the entire time. What happens if you die?" 

He was too used to living as a spy, there was no longer any need for common courtesy or respect when it came to such life and death situations. Harry was silent behind him.

Severus pondered this for a moment, and came to a decision. "If you don't see me at nine in the morning every other day in this room, it means I'm dead. Draco, you will come out at that time and continue travelling. Am I clear?"

"Yeah." 

"Alright, I'll be back in two days. Be here." Severus left a pocket watch on the counter next to Harry and tapped it with his wand before disappearing.

Draco turned around to find Harry looking down at his hands, shaking with rage. Draco took in the sight, secretly in love with the display of pure emotion - he was biting his bottom lip, blinking too much, shaking his hair. But he realized that this was a very dangerous Harry: compulsive, unpredictable.

"There's no way, is there? To save her." He choked, trying to hold back tears.

"Harry, you didn't even know her." He wanted to say 'let it go' but he knew it would only make the situation worse. And Draco spoke of her in the past tense, because he understood that if she wasn't dead already, she would be soon.

"I knew her. I knew her…I was in love with her!" Harry reasoned, attempting to find some answer to the pain he could only feel for the one he loved. 

"You did. Then so did I. It's not her you loved, Harry, it was…it's the Dark Lord you can't stand. He takes things away, takes people away and it isn't always going to feel like this." Draco tried to comfort him, tried to convince him and show him the destruction that had taken place. In truth, he knew that Harry had never really understood the Dark Lord - never really understood what he was capable of - and that was why Harry could say His name without fear.

He embraced Harry, perhaps even hurt him with the urgency of the hug. It was as much for himself as it was for Harry, and they sat like that for a long time, against the back of the sofa. They held each other desperately at first, hoping together that the truth of their world would not collapse in on them, but they understood, and they could see it in each other that they understood. Neither fell asleep, as it was impossible in this world, but both fell into a half-sleep, a trance, and did not wake for a very long time. 

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Hey everybody. Kind of a short chapter, so sorry about that (who am I kidding, they're all 'kind of' short…) but I hope you liked the small change I took in this chapter. If you didn't spot it, neither did I (*coughs*) anyway, please leave a review telling me if you liked it (and if it worked!) and if it didn't work…well, then I'd need some feedback on that too for future chapters. 

I've actually been working on my fics a lot lately, which is something of a surprise because I usually leave a long gap between updates. So yeah, this is working for me, despite my tired-ness but leave reviews so I know you care ^_^ lol

Gratefully,

Tara


	4. Anamnesis

Mantic

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the world in which he frolics.

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Severus had been trying to contact Albus Dumbledore for the past two hours, but to no avail. Either Dumbledore was busy or he was dead. He hoped beyond hope that it was the prior. He had left Draco in the pensieve with Harry to keep them both safe. Hopefully, there would be no death in this situation, but he did not want to risk all of Harry's protection. 

He explored his late father's office in an attempt to find some answer to his pressing question: how would he keep Harry Potter alive? There was, as Severus already knew, no answer in this barren room, only the collection of dust and memories. 

Severus spotted a black, leather bound book that had been lying somewhat conspicuously at the end of his father's desk. This book, as he had come to realize, was the catalyst that had forced Severus to serve the Dark Lord. 

He closed his eyes.

~~~~~~~

"Look at me, boy, get up." A tall man stood where Severus lay on the dirty kitchen floor.

Wordlessly, he stood up and carefully raised his eyes to meet his father's menacing glare. Too fast or too slow, he would get beaten to the ground again. His timing would have to be impeccable to please his father.

"You would kill me, wouldn't you? If you got the chance…" It was spoken in such a way that formulated a command instead of a question. Kill me, it said, if you can.

The child was stricken; what answer wouldn't end in another blow to the head? He looked up again into his father's eyes and was met with a laugh. No, his father was certainly not laughing, but his eyes, his soul spoke to Severus. Deep inside, his father only wanted an answer - it didn't matter what answer, only a response. 

Slowly, as he did all things, he nodded. There seemed to be no correct response to such a question. A yes would prove Severus despised his father, and a no would be an obvious lie. He was beaten regardless.

~~~~~~~

"Do you think the battle started yet?" Harry broke the silence first. They had been lying there for the better part of four hours and Harry's scar was starting to ache.

There was a long pause in which Draco seemed to be collecting his answer in slow, lazy thoughts, "I don't know."

"Is Tonks dead?"

"I don't know."

Another long silence - they both contemplated on what had taken place, who died, who lived, who was still fighting. Neither of their expectations had come to pass. This hiding was unfamiliar to Draco and almost unacceptable to Harry. 

"I want to fight." Harry said, rather blandly.

"Me too, Harry. But you know, in a way, we are sort of fighting." 

"I know." Harry resigned himself to more waiting, but then realized that his scar was a passport into Voldemort's subconscious. "You know, I think he's having fun."

Draco managed a confused look, "Who?"

"Voldemort. I can feel it in my scar. Sometimes when he's happy…or really angry."

"You took Occlumency, didn't you?" 

"Er…rather unsuccessfully." Harry admitted, "But you did, right? You would have had to, working as a spy and all."

They paused in their conversation for another long while, as if words were a precious commodity that could not afford to be wasted. Harry shifted his weight to the left side of his body, comfortably resting against Draco's back. 

"I want to sleep, Harry" Draco whined, finally realizing why they were so lethargic. 

"I want to eat. There are too many hours in a day. When's Snape coming?" 

Harry got up from his spot in front of the fire and quietly made his way toward the pocket watch Snape had left for them. He examined the patterns on the thick silver casing and reeled back when he realized what stood out on the top: the Dark Mark.

"Time?" Draco called.

Harry opened the watch, putting the image of the Dark Mark out of his mind. He didn't get a chance to look at the time, though, because Severus Snape had just opened the portrait hole and climbed his way through into the common room. 

"Close the watch, Potter." Severus commanded before pulling it out of Harry's hands and closing it himself. 

"Severus," Draco sounded surprised, "What are you doing here so early?" 

Severus stalled for a second, as if considering which words would be safest, "I have been informed that Albus has fallen ill. He can no longer lead the fight from Hogwarts and I have been called to take his place. I will, unfortunately, be required to take the Polyjuice Potion disguised as him." He breathed, trying to control his tone, "And to the Dark Lord, I will be dead."

Draco and Harry were both stunned. Several things had taken place in the last fifteen seconds. Albus Dumbledore had become sick, Severus Snape had just taken his place, and rather idiotically, he had died in doing so. Or this was their realization of these illogical facts.

"But…that's, how will you help Harry if you're at Hogwarts?" Draco feared the answer, wishing it would all just be over.

"We're going with him," Harry answered, as if realization had only just dawned on him too.

"I'm afraid so. But Draco, you will have killed me, and that will bring you a favorable position with the Dark Lord. It's the same situation I was in years ago, with Karkaroff. Regardless, you will rejoin the Death Eaters and claim you've thrown me into some sort of perilous situation from which I could not escape, am I clear?"

"Well, yeah, but Dumbledore's orders were to keep Harry _away _from Hogwarts. Sending him back would just…it would just put him in danger!"

"I'll stay here, then." Harry looked across the room to Draco, who was rather flustered, "Nobody knows where I am but the two of you." 

Before Draco could remind them again of Dumbledore's order, Severus sighed, "You will realize that I am now Albus. I will make his commands just as you will follow them, under the Order. Harry Potter, you will not remove yourself from this pensieve unless there is no other option. I will leave it at my father's manor, in the library as a book end. Draco, you will Apparate to Hogsmeade and declare full allegiance with the Dark Lord. Here," He added as an afterthought and tossed the Death Eater's robes onto the floor next to Draco. 

Secretly, Harry had wished that we would be sent out of the pensieve with Draco, as the boredom was seeping into him constantly. The passing of an ant had been exciting, as the monotone surroundings had nothing else to offer. Secretly, he wished to be sent to fight in Hogwarts, to end the ridiculous game he had played with Voldemort since the night he received his scar. But that was a shameful secret he was not willing to part with. 

"Harry, you'll be alright?" Draco was beside him now, in his Death Eater robes. How had he dressed so quickly?

"This is all happening so fast, isn't it?" Harry smiled, wishing the passage of time in the pensieve would occur just as quickly.

"Don't worry about that. Just…keep yourself busy. Hold on." He pulled from his pockets a few of his schoolbooks he had mistakenly brought along with him. Charming them back to their original size, he left the heavy stack on the ground, "Read these if you get bored. I'll come back as soon as I can, alright? And…well," He looked down at the floor and then up at Severus, "What happens if we die? How will Harry know when to come out?"

At this, Severus placed his pocket watch back onto the table, "This is a two way speaker as well as a watch. We will keep one here and," Severus shifted around in his robe pocket and pulled out another identical copy, "This will go with you, Draco. I will not be coming back, so it is up to you to protect him."

And it had seemed so fast when Harry remembered it. Severus had left first and Draco followed, only after leaving a few dozen kisses. They hadn't said anything but goodbye. Three days after leaving Hogwarts, Harry was once again alone in a memory.

~~~~~~~

Hey people! I updated pretty fast, hm? I wonder if this chapter is at all concise. Ah well. Anyway, I though I should mention the Snape factor. Lol. How he started learning legilimens is sort of revealed in this chapter, when he has to protect himself from his father. Turns out it was a childhood gift. Flashbacks are wonderful. It's sort of a past meets present thing for Severus, and for Harry and Draco, they're trying to understand things better, if you get me. Harry's sort of naïve about Voldemort despite being one of the only people who've survived a conflict with him. And Draco's conflict will come into clearer focus in the following chapters. And the wonderful thing is that their stories will become intertwined as the fic draws to an end. Yup. 

Well, you'll have to read (and review) to find out what happens. Please leave some criticism so I can fix all the glaring errors I know are in there. I have no beta. That is an obvious and must unfortunate problem, but the turnaround time is just too long. I'm such a lazy bum.

-Tara


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